This invention relates to new and useful improvements in finger or toenail cleaners, and although it is particularly adapted for use by operating personnel in hospitals and the like, nevertheless it can of course readily be adapted for use in other environments such as cosmetic, and by members of the general public in homes, restaurants, hotels and the like.
Insofar as operating personnel in hospitals are concerned, the general hand scrubbing procedure follows along similar lines and which in general consists of the personnel inspecting hands to ensure that their nails are short and free of polish, their cuticles are in good condition and that no cuts or skin problems exist.
The basic steps of the hand scrubbing procedure are as follows:
(1) Turn on the faucet and bring water to a comfortable temperature.
(2) Wet hands and arms.
(3) Using the foot conrol, dispense a few drops of Betadine (Trade Mark) soap into the palms. Add small amounts of water and make a lather.
(4) Wash hands and forearms to a level 2" above the elbows, under running water, clean fingernails with a nail pick.
(5) With a sterile brush and a Betadien soap, scrub first hand, including all aspects of the fingers. Do the palm and back of the hand up to the wrist. Scrub the nails under running water. This hand to take a total of 1 minute.
(6) Obtain another sterile brush and repeat procedure for 1 minute on second hand. If using a pre-op sponge use same method but using only one sponge. (This is because taking a second sponge would recontaminate your hands).
(7) With Betadine soap and warm water mechanically wash each arm for 1 minute moving from wrist to elbows. Rinse hands and arms, moving from finger tip to elbows. Always keep hands above the level of the elbows.
(8) Obtain more Betadine soap and so a 1 minute wash to hands. Rinse in the manner described above. Keeping hands higher than elbows, and in front of you, proceed to the theatre.
It will be noted that steps 4, 5 and 6 all refer to the cleaning and scrubbing of the finger nails using a nail pick and two sterile brushes or a pre-op sponge thereby stressing the importance of ths particular operation.